As a homeowner, real estate investor, or landlord, there may be times when you have trouble paying the mortgage on your property. Here are some things you can do to avoid facing difficulty in paying your mortgage each month.
Keep your properties full. While it may sound overly simplified, this is the most obvious method for ensuring you have rent money coming in each month to cover your property mortgage payments. Don’t allow yourself to get slack on advertising for new tenants. And don’t put off screening applicants or filling your properties because you get busy or overworked. Recognize that filling your vacancies is a major aspect of your real estate investing (REI) business success and deal with it quickly and efficiently every time.
Do your best to find quality tenants. If you want to keep your properties full, finding good quality tenants is key. By “good” it means they pay their rent on time, keep the property maintained and don’t abuse the lease. By using background and credit checks, you can find the best tenants available and thereby maximize your chances of keeping your rent coming in regularly, which will help you pay the mortgage when it comes due.
Look for long-term tenants. Don’t assume that quality tenants will necessarily be long-term ones. Some good renters may know they can’t stay over a few months at most. They may be students or working a temporary job. They may just be living in an area waiting to move or retire somewhere else. Whatever the situation, opt for long-term renters when the choice is available. Doing so will make filling a vacancy a more infrequent occurrence.
Keep the property well-maintained. If you want good tenants, meaning long-term tenants who pay their rent on time, do your part to keep them. Deal with maintenance issues quickly. Make repairs as necessary. Upgrade appliances or at least ensure the ones you provide are in good working order. Respond to your tenants’ calls quickly, or if you can’t be sure they know you’ll be unavailable for awhile.
Being a good landlord will go a long in way in developing lasting relationships with your tenants, which will in turn help you keep them in your property longer. Often a tenant and landlord relationship can turn an average tenant into a great one simply because they want to keep that relationship intact.
It’s important to do all you can to avoid facing the difficulty of paying the mortgage on your property. These simple tips – minimizing vacancies, developing good tenant relationships, and keeping the property well-maintained, will help to insulate you from difficulties paying your mortgage each month.